Rejects
by Chestyr
Summary: Tom and Monique engage in discussion after being outsted from their friends' lunch tables. They find out that they have a little more in common than each of them had previously thought.


**Rejects**

Monique turned away from her locker and backed into Tom Gribalski, whose books went toppling to the floor.

"Oh my gosh!" said Monique, whirling around to see Tom stooping to collect his books.  "I am so sorry.  Here, let me help you."  

"No, it's all right, I've got it," Tom assured her, looking slightly flustered as he attempted to straighten the mess of books in his arms.

Monique bent down and picked one of Tom's pencils off the floor.  "Here you go," she said.

"Thanks."  Tom took the pencil out of Monique's hand with his teeth, mumbled a good-bye, and walked down the hallway toward his next class.

Monique stared after Tom for a few seconds and then removed her binder from her locker and shut it.  She walked outside for lunch and found Ruby sitting at one of the tables.

"Hey, girl," Monique greeted Ruby, "what's up?"

Ruby's eyes had stars in them.  She sighed contentedly.

"Uh-oh."  Monique grinned.  "Is this about a boy?"

Ruby nodded and put her hands under her chin, staring straight ahead of her.

"Well?" Monique prodded.  "Give me all the juicy details!"

"It's Jimmy Keegan," Ruby sang.  "He is so hot."

"Jimmy Keegan?"  Monique wrinkled her nose.  "Isn't that the boy that Ren had a crush on last week?"

Ruby shook her head and stared at Monique.  "Ren?" she exclaimed.  "Nah.  He's not Ren's type."

"I'm pretty sure she said that she hoped he asked her to the spring dance," said Monique.

"Really?" Ruby asked her friend.  "And I wasn't aware of this juicy piece of news?"

"I guess you're too caught up in your own thoughts about Jimmy to pay attention to the gossip anymore."  Monique shrugged.

"Hey girls, what's up?"   Ren set her lunch tray down on the table and sat across from Ruby and Monique.

"Ruby and I were just discussing her latest crush," Monique informed Ren.

"No, wait," said Ruby.

"Really?"  Ren's eyes got wide.  "Who?"

"Jimmy Keegan," Monique squealed.

Ren's eyes fell.  "Jimmy Keegan?" she repeated, downcast.  "You, Ruby?  He is so not your type."  She snorted.

"Yes he is, Ren," Ruby argued.

"Well, Ms. Ruby, if you had kept up on the gossip like you usually do you would know that I totally have dibs on Jimmy Keegan.  Word around the school is he's asking me to the spring dance."  Ren straightened up and smiled condescendingly.

"Not if I ask him first!" Ruby replied.

"You're not going to ask him," said Ren.  "You would never ask a guy to a dance."

"I would so!" Ruby argued.  "Monique, back me up here."

"Why does she have to back you up all the time?  Can't you let her think for herself?" said Ren.

"All right, girls, that's enough."  Monique held out her hands.  "Can't we settle this in a nicer manner?"

"Yes.  Ruby can just give up and admit that I am completely deserving of Jimmy Keegan's invitation to the dance and that he is totally not her type."

"Why do you always have to get the guys?" Ruby shot back.  "You're not the only girl in school who-"

"All right already!" Monique shouted.  Ren and Ruby froze.  Monique picked up her tray defiantly and said, with a flick of her hair, "You two can work this out for yourself.  I won't contribute to this negativity.  I'm going to go sit with the squad."  She walked away and left Ren and Ruby quibbling alone at their table.

"So yesterday Mother and I were out gardening," Tom told Twitty and Louis at their lunch table, "and Mother..."  He burst out laughing.  "She...she took the shears and she..."  He gasped for breath.  "She is so hilarious, she was..."

"All right, Tom, I think we've heard enough," Louis cut him off.

"But I was just getting to the best part," Tom protested.

"You know what, it's okay, buddy," said Twitty, "because we have something else to discuss.  Spring dance, baby!"

"Yeah!" cried Louis, slapping hands with Twitty across the table.

"So who ya gonna invite?" Twitty taunted.  "Tawny?"

"Yeah, man, I dunno."  Louis shrugged.  "I was thinking maybe....Yeah!"

"Good choice, man," said Twitty.  "I'm thinkin' Sarah Thompson."

"Sa-weet!" cried Louis.  "She is....oh, yeah, baby."  He wiggled his eyebrows seductively.

"So, uh, Tom."  Twitty turned to Tom.  "What about you, are you going to ask anyone, huh, buddy?"

"Well," Tom started.  "I don't usually attend such events..."

Just then Tawny stormed over to the table and sat down heavily next to Twitty.

"What's your problem?" Twitty asked.

"I am having such a bad day," said Tawny.  "You don't even want to know."  She scraped her fork against her plate and angrily stabbed at a piece of mystery meat.

"So you're just going to sit there grumbling all lunch period," said Twitty.

"Pretty much, yeah," Tawny told him.

Louis stared at Twitty and gestured toward Tawny.  Twitty drew an invisible line sharply across his neck.  Now was not the time to ask Tawny to a dance.

"So, Tom, about your Mom..." Louis said, leaning back.  "Yeah, so, what's up with that?"

"Tawny," Tom said softly.  "Is there anything I can do to ease your state of displeasure?"

Tawny swallowed a mouthful of mashed potatoes.  "You can go tell my algebra teacher that I didn't cheat on his stupid test."

"Perhaps you just need a bit of comfort from someone close to you," Tom suggested.

"What do you mean, Tom?" Tawny asked flatly.

"I think one of the gentlemen at this table has a little surprise for you up his sleeve."  Tom laughed through his nose.

"No, no, he doesn't," said Louis.

"Oh yes you do, Mr. Romance!"  Tom slugged Louis playfully on the arm.

"Okay, Tom, maybe you shouldn't-" Twitty began.

"Louis is going to ask you to the spring dance," Tom blurted out.

"Tom!" Louis and Twitty shouted.

"What?" asked Tawny.  "Louis, you know I hate stupid school dances.  Did you actually think it would make my day for you to ask me to dress up in some stupid frilly dress and parade around the gym to annoying teeny-bopper music for five hours?"

Louis gulped.  "Uh, I wasn't really going to ask..."

"I think it's a very sweet gesture," Tom commented.

"Okay, you know what?" Louis asked, turning to Tom.  "Why don't you just go, all right?  Just go find some other dorks or something."

"Yeah, man, you don't always have to ruin everything for us," Twitty groaned.

"All right.  I can tell I'm not wanted here.  Farewell," said Tom bitterly, rising from his seat.

"Wait, Tom!" Tawny started, but Tom had already disappeared into the crowd of students in the courtyard.

Suddenly Tom found himself face-to-face with Monique.  "Scuzzi, madam," he said shyly.

"Oh, it's o_kay," Monique insisted, dismissing the incident with a flick of her wrist.  "Hey, Tom, would you like to sit with me and some of the cheerleaders?"_

"Cheerleaders?" Tom repeated, hanging his head.  "Oh, I don't really know if I'm in the mood for crowds right now.  I was just ousted by my friends over there."

"Really?  Me too!" Monique squealed.

"People can be so uptight sometimes," Tom remarked.

"I agree.  Why don't we find an empty table and we can discuss it," said Monique.

"Well..."  Tom's eyes trailed off to the side for a moment.  "All right, I suppose."

The two found an empty table and sat down.

"You know how girls can be so picky over boys," Monique commented, digging into her salad.  "I mean, there's a whole school full of cute boys and Ren and Ruby both want the same one at the same time."

"Yeah," said Tom.  "I know what you mean.  Of course," he continued, "no one seems to be clamoring over me."

"Oh, you're so adorable."  Monique looked like she was about ready to pinch Tom's cheeks.  "I don't know why more girls aren't attracted to you."

"Why thank you," said Tom.  "I think I'm just too sophisticated for them."

Monique giggled and nearly spit out a tomato.  "I mean, I don't know if I'd want to go out on a date with you or anything..."

Tom frowned.

"Well, I mean, you're just not my type," Monique continued hastily.  "We don't have anything in common.  I'm a cheerleader and you're...well, you're on the chess team."

"I enjoy athletic competition," Tom defended himself.  "I am a student of martial arts, after all."

"Well, sometimes we cheerleaders do kickboxing to get us in shape," said Monique.

"And I'm a very fine chef, if I do say so myself."

"I like food!" Monique exclaimed.

"Well, I suppose our little meeting of the minds will have to come to an end here," said Tom.  "I must get back inside and study electron particles.  There's a big quiz coming up tomorrow, you know."

"Well maybe I'll see you tomorrow," Monique told him.

"Perhaps I'll sit in the same location."

"Perhaps I will too."  Monique clapped her hands together as Tom stood up.

"Perhaps I'll ask you to the spring dance."  Tom's voice caught in his throat and he stood there anxiously.

"Maybe I'll accept."

"Well, um, good day."  Tom took Monique's hand and kissed the top of it.  "We shall continue this tryst next afternoon."

"For sure!" Monique agreed.  As Tom walked away, she said to herself, "He is too cute."  Then she stuffed a large lettuce leaf in her mouth and chewed happily.


End file.
